Thursday 2 August 2012 05.54 EDT
First published on Thursday 2 August 2012 05.54 EDT

A schoolboy has died after falling off rocks into the sea while on a family holiday in Swansea.

The 15-year-old was reportedly swept away while fishing with his older brother and two friends at Blue Pool corner on Wednesday.

His 21-year-old brother jumped in to try to save him and also had to be rescued. One of the friends ran to a nearby beach to raise the alarm, using a passerby's mobile phone to contact emergency services at about 8pm. The other friend remained behind to try to keep visual contact with the two brothers in the water.

A South Wales police spokesman said: "We responded to reports of two males in the sea at Llangennith, Swansea, at around 8.20pm on Wednesday 1 August.

"They were taken by helicopter to Morriston hospital where one of the males, aged 15, was pronounced dead. "The other male, aged 21, remains in hospital."

While the brothers' identities have not been released, it is understood they came from the north-west of England. Swansea coastguard said it had called out the Rhossili rescue team, the Loughor independent rescue boat, Burry Port RNLI inshore lifeboat and the Tenby RNLI all-weather lifeboat and a rescue helicopter.

One brother was picked up by the Burry Port lifeboat and the other was winched from the water by the helicopter.

Will Parfitt, watch manager at Swansea coastguard, said: "The coastguard recommends that anglers who are fishing on their own close to the water's edge and from an unstable platform, such as rocks, should wear a life jacket or buoyancy aid."

He added that it was advisable to have a means of communication in case of emergency.